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It seems that since the pandemic, we’ve taken that whole “Life is uncertain, eat dessert first” quote seriously. Bakeries in the Denver metro area have been rising like batter in the oven, providing us with a slew of sweet new options for cakes, cookies, croissants, and more. Here are five new spots in the Denver area where you’re guaranteed a sugar rush.
GetRight’s
After three years of selling out of creamy Basque cheesecakes, salted maple cinnamon buns, blueberry cream pies, and chocolate croissants at pop-ups around town, Matt Dulin’s brick-and-mortar bakeshop is finally open. Besides the sweet goodies that earned him a solid fanbase, the Wheat Ridge bakery will also have a menu of savory items, like fancy sandwiches (try the salami with preserved fennel, pickled peppers, and ricotta cream on oregano- and thyme-flecked schiacciata bread), Roman-style pizza, soups, and snazzy salads.
If that’s not enough to fill you up, GetRight’s is also baking a full roster of breads, including baguettes, sourdough, wheat, and focaccia. It also doubles as a plant shop, because why not? (Just don’t forget about that Basque cheesecake amongst all your options.) 6985 W. 38th Ave., Wheat Ridge; 303-345-0758
Sweet Sisters
Even gluten-free skeptics will be impressed by the baked goods coming out of Sweet Sisters’ South Boulder kitchen. The entirely gluten-free bakery is operated by sisters Sydney and Jordan Klinkerman, who worked for the bakeshop’s previous tenant, Kim and Jake’s Cakes, for five years before purchasing the business.
The sisters are baking up tasty treats like the crave-worthy herbes de Provence cake, a super-moist honey-, rosemary-, thyme-, and lavender-scented cake with apricot filling and tangy goat cheese icing, and the unique Vindalicious cakes and cupcakes made with curry powder, vindaloo, and ginger and frosted with Thai curry-tinged icing. (Not to worry, traditionalists: The bakery has more typical flavors, too, such as chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet.) Savory items go fast, so get there early if you want to stock up on baguettes. 641 S. Broadway, Boulder; 303-499-9126
The Flour Shop
Never bitten into a chai snickerdoodle before? What about a white chocolate raspberry pistachio cookie? The Flour Shop makes what they call craft cookies—handcrafted confections using quality ingredients and thoughtful packaging and presentation to round out the elevated cookie experience—in both unique and classic flavors.
Bakers Jennifer Ngo and Sara Murphy first launched their business in 2018 as delivery only, so when the pandemic hit, they were perfectly poised to get those ovens cranking and continue with that shipping, pickup, and delivery model. And since it’s not like we need fewer cookies in the world, they just opened a Curtis Park storefront and expanded their offerings to include more flavors, frozen cookie dough, and cakes. Stop by to satiate all the cookie monsters in your life. 2400 Curtis St.; 303-905-2561
Paris Baguette
If you know, you know. Paris Baguette, a South Korean bakery and cafe megachain, has a huge cult following, and fans of its yogurt fruit cakes and mochi doughnuts have been lining up at the first Colorado location in Parker since late March. (Another bakery is set to open in Aurora in June, with three more Denver metro locations to follow.)
From the fresh-baked flaky croissants to the delightfully chewy doughnuts to the three-layer cakes in fruity flavors like blueberry chiffon and strawberry soft cream, there’s a lot to love about Paris Baguette. The Parker location even has the chain’s first-ever temperature-controlled smart lockers, so you can pick up your to-go orders and know they’ll taste just as good when you get home. 18374 Cottonwood Drive, Parker; 10601 East Garden Drive, Aurora
Lucky Mary’s Baking & Sweets Company
Lucky Mary’s may be new to its Golden storefront, but owner Carol Mele-Norton has been baking cupcakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls, whoopie pies, and stunning occasion cakes out of a dessert trailer for eight years. Creative cake flavors like strawberry lemonade, s’mores, and pistachio matcha deserved a permanent home, though, and now they’ve got it.
If those sweets aren’t a big enough draw, carnival treat lovers have a whole other reason to check out the shop: funnel cakes. It’s the rare bakery that gives funnel cakes a permanent spot on the menu, and Lucky Mary’s honors the beloved fried dough with maple bacon, peaches and cream, blueberry pancake, and other delicious toppings. 3015 Youngfield St., Unit 101, Golden; 303-895-0343